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From: rdd@usa1.com (Aaron J. Dinkin)
Subject: Re: Languages: Hard, Harder, Hardest
Message-ID: <rdd-3107960954120001@dmn1-38.usa1.com>
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 1996 09:54:12 -0500
References: <4s9otl$1pt@dfw-ixnews6.ix.netcom.com> <4sr6ll$r0a@homer.alpha.net> <4tcbj8$tb8@sonnet1.sonnet.com> <31FBA02B.2DD9@netvision.net.il> <4tlgi0$f <4tlr51$d7b@carrera.intergate.bc.ca> <4tltjf$f1e@carrera.intergate.bc.ca>
Lines: 24

In article <4tltjf$f1e@carrera.intergate.bc.ca>, Cardano@intergate.bc.ca wrote:

> But this raises another issue that I haven't seen mentioned. Your native
> language is language 0. Learn language 1. Learn Language 2 some considerable
> time after learning language 1. When trying to think of words in language
> 1 get interference from language 2. On a visit to Belgium and France a few
> years ago, attempting to dust off my rusty high school French, I kept getting
> stuck with the Swedish word popping into my find before the French. Anyone
> care to comment on this?  Apologies for the long personal post.

This happens to me backwards, as a matter of fact. I began studying Hebrew
when I was six years old and Latin when I was fifteen, but I often find
myself thinking of the Latin word for something when I want the Hebrew one
- though not to the extent of some of the girls who were in my Hebrew
class and were also studying Spanish. A characteristic (for them)
exchange:

-"Aten mevinot Ivrit?" [Do you understand Hebrew?]
-"Si!"

Come to think of it, some of them were _also_ studying Latin.

-Aaron J. Dinkin
Dr. Whom

